Reading Time: 2 minutes One of Canada’s biggest agricultural events has crossed itself off the 2020 summer calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s Farm Show, which rebranded in December from its former Canada’s Farm Progress Show identity, announced Monday it has officially postponed to an as-yet unconfirmed date. The annual show, organized by the Regina Exhibition Association (REAL), […] Read more
Canada’s Farm Show postponed
New date not yet set for former Farm Progress Show
Logistics, lack of containers hamper pulse crop movement
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Logistics disruptions due to COVID-19 are hampering nearby movement of pulses, according to a number of industry participants speaking Thursday on a webinar organized by the Global Pulse Consortium. However, the longer-term impact of the pandemic remains to be seen. “The shipping industry has been hugely impacted by COVID-19,” Chris Oliver, nautical director […] Read more
Federal carbon tax rises despite opposition, pandemic
Ottawa not backing away from scheduled increases
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa — The federal government has pushed ahead with an increase to the carbon tax despite continued calls from the agriculture sector for reprieve from the program. The price on carbon rose from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne effective April 1. The federal Liberal government is standing firm on its commitment to increase […] Read more
U.S. firm buys remaining stake in DOT Technology
Majority owner Raven Industries buys full control
Reading Time: 2 minutes The U.S. precision ag manufacturer holding the controlling stake in a made-in-Canada self-guiding farm equipment platform has made a deal to buy up the balance. Raven Industries, which last November bought an undisclosed majority ownership share in DOT Technology — with an option to buy the remaining stake in the following 10 years — announced […] Read more
Manitoba eases load limits for grains, livestock, vegetables, fertilizer
'Essential' commodities allowed at normal axle weights on more roads
Reading Time: 2 minutes Springtime load limits on certain Manitoba highways will be lifted early this year for transport of crops, livestock, fertilizer and other “essential” goods. Provincial Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced Tuesday that certain essential goods may be trucked at “normal loading” axle weights on highways usually subject to Level 1 road restrictions during spring thaw. Essential […] Read more
Dairy sector shuts down most visits from off-farm providers
In agriculture, dairy farms are among those most called-on by outside services
Reading Time: 3 minutes New additions to Gerrit Herrema’s dairy barn have made it easier for his family to abide by recent directions to avoid contact with milk truck drivers to reduce COVID-19’s spread. “We have boot washes and other biosecurity measures in the barn. We need to take these measures in order to minimize the damage,” said Herrema, […] Read more
Cross-border truckers exempt from mandatory isolation
TFWs coming to Canada won't be exempt from new rule
Reading Time: 2 minutes Truckers and others who are still allowed to cross into Canada on essential business are exempt from a new two-week self-isolation rule for people arriving in the country. Health Minister Patty Hajdu on Wednesday announced an emergency order under the federal Quarantine Act, requiring anyone who’s entering Canada by land, air or sea to self-isolate […] Read more
Looking for the next “jump-shift” in agriculture
Amid all the predictions that agriculture in 2030 will look utterly different than today, a new, less dramatic future is emerging
Reading Time: 6 minutes Way back in 2009, Country Guide published a story on a new idea that was being called “jump-shift.” It’s the theory that the only real way to get ahead is to make sudden transitions or “jumps,” instead of trying to evolve smoothly and steadily. Shift quickly, jump whole-hog. Commit yourself to deciding which technologies to […] Read more
‘Essential’ travel rule fuzzy on farmers picking up parts, inputs
U.S. border officers will have final say on Canadian farmers' cross-border business trips
Reading Time: 3 minutes Whether Canadian farmers can continue to pick up machinery parts and other products for their operations in the United States is at the discretion of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. At 11:59 p.m. ET Friday, Canada and the U.S. temporarily restricted non-essential travel between the two nations to try and slow the spread of […] Read more
Digging into the details of electronic logging devices
ELDs are improving safety and logistics, and pointing the way forward for farm transport
Reading Time: 4 minutes Change can be daunting in any field. When it’s imposed, especially by government regulation, it can get off to an even rockier start, such as with the subject of this article — electronic logging devices (ELDs) and Transport Canada’s implementation of the technology. Initially, many truckers and fleet operators who have installed the systems were […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
